The present invention relates to cassette loading device in cassette tape recorders, and more particularly to a cassette loading device which, in a cassette tape recorder of the type wherein a cassette is loaded in a vertical state, affords ease in the operation of loading and unloading a cassette and has a structure of small size.
In general, the cassette tape recorder is classified into two types, namely, a horizontal type wherein a cassette is loaded in a horizontal state into the tape recorder, and a vertical type wherein a cassette is loaded in a vertical state. In either of the above described types, it is preferable for users that the tape within the cassette travels in the same direction (i.e., a direction from left to right) as in the conventional open-reel type tape recorders.
In the above described vertical type cassette tape recorder, the cassette is loaded with the forward end having openings thereof facing downward, and accordingly, the capstan is disposed at a lower part of the cassette loading space. For this purpose, the cassette loading device in the vertical type cassette tape recorder is provided with a cassette holder having a pivotal hinge at the lower side of the cassette loading space. When the cassette is to be loaded, the cassette holder is tilted and opened toward front side, and then the cassette is inserted into the holder from above with the forward end thereof facing downward. Thereafter, the cassette holder is rotated back to its original vertical position together with the cassette inserted therein.
Here, since the capstan receiving opening of the cassette accommodated within the cassette holder is positioned at a lower side, the capstan receiving opening rotates with a relatively large curvature (small radius of curvature) about the pivotal hinge of the cassette holder. Therefore, in the prior art cassette loading device, in order to carry out smoothly the operation of engaging the capstan relatively into the capstan receiving opening when the cassette is rotated with the cassette holder, the distance between the capstan receiving opening of the cassette within the cassette holder and the pivotal fulcrum of the cassette holder has heretofore been made large so that the curvature of the rotating locus of the capstan receiving opening will be rendered small as much as possible.
Accordingly, the above described conventional cassette loading device in the vertical type cassette tape recorder is accompanied by difficulties arising from the fact that the height dimension of the cassette holder becomes large, whereby the cassette tape recorder becomes bulky. Particularly, in the instance where this cassette tape recorder is used as a cassette tape recorder deck in combination with the other apparatuses such as a tuner and an amplifier, that is, in the case of a so-called component type set, there arises the difficulty of attaining a balance between the size of this cassette tape recorder and those of the above mentioned other apparatuses.